As one way of equipping parents and communities with knowledge and understanding on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), Point of Progress – a local non-governmental organization – on conducted two-day community dialogue sessions with parents and community leaders from Traditional Authority Chimutu in Lilongwe.
The dialogue sessions were initiated under the organization’s project “Her Future Her Choice”.
The project seeks to provide accurate information to families regarding key issues of SRHR faced by young people as well as equip families with practical strategies and communication skills necessary to engage in meaningful dialogues with young people.
Speaking at the opening of the dialogue session on Wednesday, Point of Progress Project Manager, Sekanawo Mwatibu, expressed optimism that the project will help in eliminating early pregnancies amongst youth in the area.
“We expect to reach out to 4, 000 direct beneficiaries who are adolescents girls and young women including readers and parents, all getting to the total of 16,000. We intend to reach out into other districts apart from the two districts which we are currently implementing the project,” explained Mwatibu.
Group Village Headman Padzuwa emphasized the need for greater collaboration among stakeholders to ensure the battle against child and early marriages is won.
The project is being implemented with support from Global Affairs Canada (GAC) through Oxfam and they are working hand in hand with other NGOs like FPAM as well as CAVOC in Lilongwe and Balaka districts.
